A Secret Killer (Julia Blake Cozy Mystery Book 4) (5 page)

Chapter 9

DI
Clarke turned his penetrating look on Cain and said,
“
Is
that right? Perhaps you should tell me your full name.
”

Julia
noticed a slight sheen appear on Cain
’
s forehead. She
felt like speaking on his behalf but she knew the inspector wouldn
’
t
allow that.

Cain
’
s
chin lifted and he said,
“
It is true that
I
’
ve
been in prison, but it wasn
’
t for murder, it
was for manslaughter and I served my full sentence.
”

“
And
your name?
”
DI Clarke prompted.

Julia
frowned as she heard DS Pendleton mutter under his breath,
“
Stinky
Cain.
”

“
It
’
s
Cain Andrews. Would you like my date of birth too? I can tell you which prison
I went to.
”

“
There
’
s no
need, I can check that myself. It
’
s obvious that
my sergeant knows you.
”

DS
Pendleton snorted.
“
Yeah! We were at school together. I
’
ll
never forget how much he used to smell! You
’
d
smell him before you saw him! Don
’
t think he even
knew what a bath looked like.
”

DI
Clarke
’
s
eyes narrowed.
“
That
’
s
enough, DS Pendleton.
”
He focused on Cain again.
“
Tell
me, when did you start working for Ms Blake.
”

“
Yesterday,
”
Julia butted in.

DI
Clarke held up a finger towards Julia and said,
“
I
’
m
sure your employee can speak for himself.
”

Cain
said,
“
Julia
’
s
right. It was yesterday. We came to see Mr Barnes here yesterday but he
’
d
just returned from a trip and Julia suggested we come back today.
”

DI
Clarke nodded and turned to Julia.
“
How long have
you known Mr Andrews?
”

“
Since
Saturday. I interviewed him at home and then decided to give him a trial. He
was honest from the beginning, he told me about the manslaughter charge. I even
checked up on him.
”
Julia
gave Cain an apologetic smile. Then she added,
“
He
’
s a
good worker.
”

“
I
’
m not
disputing that,
”
DI
Clarke said. He nodded again, as if weighing something up.
“
So,
Mr Andrews turns up for an interview on Saturday, he starts work for you on
Monday. At which time he meets the victim. And then on Tuesday you find that
your client is now deceased. Interesting.
”

No
one spoke for a moment as they thought about what the inspector had said.

DS
Pendleton broke the silence.
“
Shall I arrest
him now, sir?
”

Julia
bristled.
“
On
what grounds? What would his motive be? Where
’
s the
evidence?
”

“
He
’
s got
form,
”
DS Pendleton said.
“
Once
a stinky criminal, always a stinky criminal.
”

“
Sergeant,
that
’
s
enough from you. I don
’
t know what
’
s got
into you today, this is not how we conduct ourselves. Ms Blake is right though,
we can
’
t
arrest Mr Andrews based on the fact that he
’
s an
ex-convict. We will take full statements from them both. And we will undertake
our enquiries appropriately. I trust that you have called the relevant
departments?
”

DS
Pendleton nodded, a look of disappointment on his face.

Julia
said,
“
If we
’
re to
give our statements now, could I phone my next client to let them know we
’
ll be
late?
”

“
There
’
s no
need, you can come down to the station later to give your statements,
”
DI Clarke said.

“
But,
sir! He might make a run for it!
”

“
I
’
m
sure Ms Blake will keep on eye on him. She
’
s big
enough to keep him in check.
”

Julia
blinked. What did he just say? Was he insulting her? And was that a twinkle in
his cold eyes? No, DI Clarke wasn
’
t the twinkling
kind.

There
was a beep, the inspector reached into his pocket and took out his phone.
“
Yes.
I am. Now? Okay.
”
He
sighed and put his phone away.
“
DS Pendleton,
you
’
ll
have to finish up here, I have to be somewhere.
”

DS
Pendleton gave Cain a smug smile.
“
Yes, sir, I
’
ll
deal with everything here.
”

DI
Clarke walked over to his sergeant and gave him a stern look.
“
It
’
s
obvious that there
’
s history between you and Mr Andrews but
that should not in any way affect your investigations. Is that clear?
”

The
smug smile disappeared.
“
Yes, sir.
”

DI
Clarke turned to Julia and said,
“
If you have any
reason to complain about the attitude of my sergeant, which I hope you won
’
t do
of course, please call me direct. Despite appearances so far, DS Pendleton is
good at his job.
”

Julia
wasn
’
t
convinced but she gave DI Clarke a nod.

DI
Clarke strode towards the front door. He paused and looked back at Julia.
“
No
interfering, Ms Blake. Do you understand?
”

“
Yes,
sir. I mean, DI Clarke. I wouldn
’
t dream of it,
”
Julia said.

The
inspector strode out of the door. DS Pendleton tapped his pencil on his
notebook and said,
“
I think I should take your statements
now. Let
’
s
start with you, Stinky.
”

Fury
rose in Julia. Keeping her voice steady, she said,
“
The
inspector said we could give statements later. And please don
’
t
refer to Cain here as Stinky. I find that offensive enough to make a complaint
about.
”

“
Whatever,
”
the sergeant replied.
“
The
inspector has left me in charge. Right, where were you last night, Stinky?
”

Julia
felt her fists clenching. She was stopped from committing a chargeable offence
by an ear-piercing scream at her side.

Everyone
jumped and looked towards where the noise was coming from.

An
older well-dressed woman stood there, her trembling hands covering her mouth, a
large handbag hanging from her elbow. She mumbled,
“
A
dead body! A real dead body. Oh!
”

Cain
shot Julia a questioning look. She shrugged in return. She had no idea who the
woman was.

“
Mum!
What are you doing here? Did the inspector see you come in?
”

Mum?

Julia
and Cain looked at each other, their mouths open.

The
woman
’
s
hands dropped, she pulled her handbag closer to her chest.
“
I
’
m
sorry, Jason. You went without your lunch. I was driving to the station when I
saw your car outside. Oh! Is that really a dead body? Who is he? Goodness! Look
at all that blood. What a mess!
”

Julia
saw the flush on the sergeant
’
s cheeks. He
didn
’
t
look so smug now. She felt a surprising pang of sympathy for him. It
’
s a
good job DI Clarke wasn
’
t here to
witness this scene. Looks like DS Pendleton thought the same too.

He
shoved his notebook and pencil into his pocket, turned to Julia and Cain and
said,
“
You
two can go. Come down to the station later.
”

Julia
smiled at the sergeant
’
s mum as they
walked past her. She gave her a shaky smile in return. As Julia followed Cain
out of the house she heard DS Pendleton hiss,
“
Mum,
you can
’
t
just walk in here! You
’
ve contaminated
a major crime scene! Just give me my lunch and go! I
’
ll
speak to you later.
”

Any
sympathy that Julia felt for the sergeant evaporated. What a way to speak to
his mother!

Julia
opened the car, Cain got in the passenger side. Julia was about to get in the
driver
’
s
side when she heard the sergeant
’
s mum say,
“
I
’
m so
sorry about that. I thought he
’
d be pleased.
”

Julia
turned around. The sergeant
’
s mum was
fiddling with her pearl necklace. Was it real? Probably, going by her expensive
clothes and handbag. Julia said,
“
I
’
m
sure he
’
ll be
okay. That was considerate of you to bring his lunch.
”

The
woman nodded.
“
He
needs looking after, he works so hard. He
’
s
trying to get a promotion. I
’
m sure he
’
ll
get it. He
’
s a
determined man is my Jason, nothing gets in his way.
”

Julia
smiled and nodded politely.

The
woman went on.
“
I wasn
’
t
expecting to see a dead body! Look, my hands are still shaking. I don
’
t
think I
’
ll be
able to put my driving gloves back on.
”

Julia
looked at the pale brown driving gloves that the woman was holding up. What a
luxury. The only gloves Julia was ever concerned with was her rubber gloves.

The
woman gave up on her gloves and placed them in her handbag. She gave Julia an
unsteady wave and walked down the drive towards the main road.

Julia
got in the car and said,
“
Should I go
after her? Make sure she
’
s okay to drive?
”

“
I
think she
’
ll be
alright. She
’
s not
as delicate as she
’
s acting,
”
Cain said.

“
What
do you mean? Do you know her?
”

Cain
nodded.
“
Only
from standing at the school gates waiting for her precious son, she used to look
at me with the same disapproval that everyone did.
”

Julia
caught the bitterness in his voice.